2022 Dallas Cowboys Preview: Roster Moves, Depth Chart, Schedule, Storylines and More

This article is part of our Team Previews series.

Dallas Cowboys

Dallas' roster has star power and a potentially dangerous offense, but no team has repeated as NFC East champions since the early 2000s. The deck is stacked against them for another playoff run, considering their offseason moves that seemed to prioritize future cap space over immediate production.

2022 Offseason Moves – Dallas Cowboys

Key Acquisitions

• Jalen Tolbert – WR (Rd. 3, No. 88 – South Alabama)

Has an opportunity in an uptempo offense after offseason departures.

• James Washington – WR (from Steelers)

Looking to salvage his career after never clicking in Pittsburgh.

• Dante Fowler – DE (from Falcons)

Back with DC Dan Quinn, but just one productive season on his resume.

• Tyler Smith – OT (Rd. 1, No. 24 – Tulsa)

Future replacement for Tyron Smith will start his career at left guard.

Key Departures

• Amari Cooper – WR (to Browns)

Disappointed in 2021 but still leaves a huge hole in the passing game.

• Cedrick Wilson – WR (to Dolphins)

Parlayed chance with Cooper and Michael Gallup out into a new deal.

• Randy Gregory – DE (to Broncos)

Emerged as a solid complement to DeMarcus Lawrence before his exit.

• La'el Collins – OT (to Bengals)

Fell out of favor in Dallas but still is dependable at right tackle.

Dallas Cowboys 2022 Coaching Staff

Head Coach: Mike McCarthy (Year 3)

Offensive Coordinator: Kellen Moore (Year 4) – Air Coryell scheme

Defensive Coordinator: Dan Quinn (Year 2) – 4-3 scheme

Stats to Know for the Dallas Cowboys

2022 Vegas Projected Wins: 10.5 (T-3rd)

2021 Record: 12-5

2021 Points Scored: 530 (1st)

2021 Points Allowed: 358 (7th)

2021 Point Differential: +172 (2nd)

2021 Run-Play Rate: 40.4 percent (22nd)

2021 Offensive Snaps: 1,153 (2nd)

2021 PFF O-Line Ranking: No. 1

Full 2021 Team Stats

2022 Dallas Cowboys Depth Chart

QB: Dak Prescott / Cooper Rush

RB: Ezekiel Elliott / Tony Pollard / Rico Dowdle

WR1: CeeDee Lamb / James Washington

WR2: Michael Gallup / Noah Brown

WR3: Jalen Tolbert / Simi Fehoko

TE: Dalton Schultz / Jake Ferguson / Sean McKeon / Jeremy Sprinkle

O-Line: LT Tyron Smith / LG Tyler Smith / C Tyler Biadasz / RG Zack Martin / RT Terence Steele (RotoWire Rank: No. 7)

Kicker: Jonathan Garibay / Lirim Hajrullahu

Full 2022 Depth Chart

2022 Dallas Cowboys Schedule

Dallas Cowboys Storylines for 2022

Dak to the Future

Through the first six weeks of the 2021 campaign, the Cowboys featured one of the league's most potent offenses, averaging 34.2 points and 460.8 yards per game while going 5-1. Dak Prescott posted a stunning 16:4 TD:INT and 73.1 completion percentage during that stretch, but he suffered a calf injury late in a Week 6 overtime win over the Patriots. While he missed only one game, he didn't flash his early-season form again until Week 16, as absences along the offensive line also contributed to the slowdown.

The front office decided addition by subtraction was the answer this offseason, sending wide receiver Amari Cooper to the Browns in a salary dump and cutting loose two starting O-linemen in right tackle La'el Collins and left guard Connor Williams. Right guard Zack Martin and increasingly fragile left tackle Tyron Smith remain, but this is not the same unit that dominated opposing defenses just a few years ago.

With Ezekiel Elliott not getting any younger, there will be even more pressure on Prescott to play at an elite level and on coordinator Kellen Moore to live up to the hype that had him viewed as a future head coaching candidate. The pieces are there for the offense to be productive, but Dallas seems unlikely to reach the same heights it did out of the gate last season.

Running on Empty

It took one extra game on the schedule, but Ezekiel Elliott was able to post his fourth career 1,000-yard campaign in 2021. His days as a top-shelf fantasy asset appear to be coming to an end, however.

The running back who reeled off double-digit carries of 20-plus yards twice in his first three seasons has combined for 10 across the last three years. Plus, he's produced only two 100-yard games in both of the past two seasons after recording five or more in each of his first four.

With his explosiveness waning, Elliott has relied on volume to continue delivering solid production, but even that might be disappearing. He's gone from averaging 24.3 touches per game over his first four years to 18.1 per game the last two campaigns. And that number dropped to 14.5 per game over the final eight regular-season contests of 2021, a stretch in which he got single-digit carries four different times – something that would have been unthinkable under previous coach Jason Garrett.

Because his contract is structured in such a way that the team can cut him without a huge cap hit after 2022 and No. 2 RB Tony Pollard continues to show he's the more dangerous and productive runner on a per-touch basis, Elliott's days as a bell cow are over, and he might even find himself stuck in a timeshare with Pollard to close out his Dallas tenure.

Wolf in Lamb's Clothing

The decision to move on from Amari Cooper for a fifth-round pick this offseason was a shocking one, especially considering the hauls other teams got for their top-line wide receivers, but Dallas at least had a successor in place. CeeDee Lamb didn't quite have the breakout some were expecting last year, but he did record the first 1,000-yard season of his career and seems ready for more than his 2021 tally of 120 targets, a figure that barely cracked the top 25 in the NFL.

Lamb has an impressive array of gifts, including hands and body control that make contested catches look easy, and enough physicality to break tackles and rack up yards after the catch. He isn't a speed merchant like Tyreek Hill, but Lamb's route-running is sharp enough that he still can bust out sizable gains when he's hit in stride. The other factor pointing toward a big season for Lamb is the lack of competition for targets.

Michael Gallup, the only other established threat on the roster, likely will miss the beginning of the year as he completes his recovery from a torn ACL, James Washington arrives after four mostly quiet seasons with the Steelers, and rookie third-rounder Jalen Tolbert may face a steep learning curve. Tight end Dalton Schultz returns as a dependable option at the sticks, but if Dak Prescott wants a play down the field, Lamb will be his guy.

Fantasy Football Stock Watch

⬆️  Rising: WR Jalen Tolbert

The 2022 third-round pick out of South Alabama offers explosive playmaking ability, and if Michael Gallup is on the shelf to begin the season, Tolbert has a fairly clear path to targets if he proves he's ready in camp.

⬇️  Falling: RB Ezekiel Elliott

Going into his seventh NFL season, and with a lot of wear and tear after heavy usage to date in his career, Elliott no longer seems capable of handling the same volume or gaining big yards with the touches he does get.

😴  Sleeper: WR James Washington

The Oklahoma State product never panned out in Pittsburgh, but Washington was a second-round pick in 2018 and could provide Dallas with another physical receiving option opposite CeeDee Lamb if he wins a role.

🌟  Pivotal Player: Dak Prescott

After Prescott finally signed a contract extension worth $40 million per year last March, the signal-caller entered 2021 with sky-high expectations, and he met them early on before a calf injury slowed him down. The Cowboys will need him to stay healthy this season, given the downgrades in his receiving corps.

Dallas Cowboys Injury Report

WR Michael Gallup

Gallup is coming off a tough 2021 in which he strained his calf Week 1 and landed on IR, only to tear his ACL in Week 17 after his return. In total, he saw action in only nine games, and his 7.2 yards per target was the lowest mark of his career. Nonetheless, the Cowboys saw fit to re-sign Gallup to a five-year deal in the offseason, and once he's recovered from his knee injury he should slot in as the team's No. 2 wideout following the departure of Amari Cooper. As yet, there's no sign Gallup will be 100 percent for the opener, however, or when he might be ready to return.

QB Dak Prescott

While Prescott finished last season on the field, it may not be completely accurate to say he was healthy all that time. His numbers took a significant swoon after he returned from a calf issue that sidelined him Week 8, and it wasn't until the last few games of the regular season that Prescott regained his impressive early-season form. Given that his 2020 campaign was cut short by a broken and dislocated right ankle, it's fair to wonder if we've even seen the 28-year-old at his peak yet for a full season – or whether he'll ever stay healthy for one.

T Tyron Smith

The eight-time Pro Bowler still is a force on Prescott's blind side when he's healthy, but that's becoming a less and less frequent occurrence. Smith hasn't played a full schedule since 2015, and he's suited up for only 13 games over the last two seasons. The Cowboys used a first-round pick in this year's draft on his likely eventual successor in Tyler Smith, but the younger T. Smith will line up at left guard to begin his career. Whether he kicks outside when Tyron inevitably breaks down again – and how effective the rookie might be if he does – could be one of the key factors for the Dallas offense in 2022.

Training Camp Battle 2022 – Dallas Cowboys

Amari Cooper wasn't the only important wide receiver to leave the Cowboys in the offseason. Cedrick Wilson parlayed a career-best campaign last season into a three-year deal with the Dolphins, and all told the Dallas offense has 165 targets at wideout to replace – and more if you count any additional time Michael Gallup misses while completing his recovery.

Fighting for those looks behind unquestioned No. 1 receiver CeeDee Lamb are two newcomers. James Washington, a second-round pick of the Steelers in 2018, peaked in Pittsburgh as a sophomore and has seen his numbers decline each of the last two years, but he's a physical receiver who could help fill Cooper's role over the middle and on intermediate routes after signing a prove-it deal with Dallas.

Jalen Tolbert may take some time to adjust to the pro ranks, but he has the athleticism to become a downfield threat in the NFL once he matures. Holdovers Noah Brown and Simi Fehoko also could claim larger roles with impressive training camps, but Tolbert and Washington will get first crack at those opportunities, with the rookie being the player the Cowboys would most like to see make an impact.